Kosovo’s anti-establishment party Vetevendosje set to win election: first results

Photo: EPA Albin Kurti

Anti-establishment party Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) is set to win Kosovo's parliamentary election with 46.8% of the votes, preliminary results based on a partial count on Sunday showed, Reuters reported.

The opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is forecast to come second with 18.7%, a state election commission preliminary result based on 30% of the votes counted showed.

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti, who served as prime minister for five months last year, has won support on pledges to fight widespread corruption and on a stance that there should be no compromise in a dialogue with Serbia, which lost control over Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombed its forces.

According to exit polls Vetevendosje is not likely to secure a majority of 61 seats in parliament and will have to find a coalition partner to form a government.

"There are a lot of challenges ahead of us, we have the issue with Serbia, the pandemic situation and strengthening the state," Ramush Haradinaj, whose AAK is seen as a potential king-maker, said after casting his ballot.

Serbia, backed by Russia, does not recognise Kosovo's independence, citing the need to protect the rights of its Serb minority. Negotiators from the European Union and the United States have failed to secure a compromise to allow Kosovo to join international bodies such as the United Nations and NATO.

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